College Basketball's Biggest Rivalry-Duke vs UNC Part 1 Recap

Yesterday night, North Carolina beat Duke 88-72 in a lopsided game. Duke's Zion Williamson was injured in the first minute of the game, and the Blue Devils were never able to get back in the game. North Carolina jumped out to a double digit lead early in the first half and maintained it for the whole game. Luke Maye had 30 points and 15 rebounds as he lead the Tar Heels in both categories. Cameron Johnson had 26 points and 7 rebounds as well. The Tar Heels shot 50.7% from the field but only a whopping 10.0% from the 3 point line. Duke, on the other hand, had a combined 60 points from RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish. Barrett had 33 points and 13 rebounds while Reddish contributed 27 points and pulled in 3 rebounds. Duke shot only 34.7% from the field and 20.5% from the arc. Also, Duke turned the ball over 20 times while North Carolina turned it over 14. The biggest difference in the game was the amount of times North Carolina shared the ball and played unselfishly. Carolina had 20 assists compared to Duke's 9. Some of Carolina's passes were spectacular and left the Duke players confused. Overall, the game was lopsided and completely taken over by North Carolina once Zion left in the first minute. Congratulations to the North Carolina Tar Heels for winning impressively against Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium!!

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/unc-vs-duke-live-score-updates-highlights-from-2019-rivalry-game/q2bmbxfff81n19ly5n942z63u

Stats from cbssports.com

College Basketball's Biggest Rivalry-Duke vs UNC Part 1 Preview and Predictions

Today at 9pm, the college basketball world will be witnessing the biggest rivalry in all of college basletball: UNC vs Duke. These two teams have played each other since 1920 and UNC leads the series 137-111. Duke is currently #1 in the AP Poll with a record of 23-2 while UNC is #9 with a record of 20-5. Duke's star players include freshman sensations Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones. UNC's star players include verteran Luke Maye and sharpshooter Coby White. The head coach for Duke is Mike Krzyzewski and for UNC is Roy Williams. Both teams are already guaranteed locks in the NCAA tournament, but in this matchup, records don't matter. This game could decide the regular season winner of the ACC as Duke is 11-1 in the conference and UNC is 10-2. This game is one of the most exciting games of the year and should live up to its hype. It will be held at North Carolina, and tickets should be insanely expensive this year. Good luck to Duke and UNC today and may the best basketball team win!

Prediction to win:

Because UNC is playing at home, I think that they will have the slight edge in this game. Both teams are pretty evenly matched, but UNC has the experience in these games that Duke's freshman stars don't. The winner will be decided by who can play better in the final 10 minutes of the game and who can go on a big scoring run late.

Final Score: UNC 68, Duke 63

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/unc-vs-duke-tipoff-time-tv-channel-live-stream-for-2019-rivalry-game/p30bdlfc71b21nnk3fsrg2pa5

NBA All Star Weekend 2019-THE GAME- Team LeBron vs Team Giannis Recap

Tonight, Team LeBron beat Team Giannis 178-164 in a very exciting matchup. The MVP, Kevin Durant, put up 31 points and went 6/9 from the arc to lead Team LeBron's comeback down 20 points in the 3rd quarter. Damian Lillard was also a factor and made 6 threes in the game as well. Klay Thompson had 20 points off the bench and went 6-17 on FGs and threes. Also, Leonard and LeBron each had 19 points on the game with 16 FGs made in total. On Giannis' side, Giannis lead the way in scoring with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. Paul George and Khris Middleton both had 20 points apiece and a combined 12 threes made. Stephen Curry struggled from the 3 point line, only making 4 out of his 17 total attempts. In total, 62 combined threes were made in the game compared to 167 3 point shot attempts. This game was filled with many dunks too including Giannis' slam from Stephs high bounce pass. This dunk was insane and probably the highlight of the night. In the end, Team LeBron came back from a huge deficit in the third quarter to beat Team Giannis 178-164. Congratulations to Team LeBron for winning the 2019 All Star Game!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06VEhzlBp9I

Stats from www.espn.com

NBA All Star Weekend 2019-THE GAME- Team LeBron vs Team Giannis Preview and Predictions

The All Star Game is finally here!! In this matchup, Team LeBron will be facing off against Team Giannis. LeBron and Giannis both pick players back and forth in a draft-like format until their rosters are complete. This game should be another high scoring affair with both teams most likely scoring well over 130 points. Defense is held to a minimum, and there are many highlights plays throughout the game. Last year, Team LeBron got the victory over Team Stephen 148-145 in a close game. This is the final day of this year's All Star weekend after the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday and the Skills Challenge, 3 Point Shootout, and Dunk Contest yesterday. Here are the rosters and my prediction to win...

Team LeBron Roster:

Starters

LeBron James- LA Lakers

James Harden- Houston Rockets

Kyrie Irving- Boston Celtics

Kawhi Leonard- Toronto Raptors

Kevin Durant- Golden State Warriors

Reserves

LaMarcus Aldridge- San Antonio Spurs

Bradley Beal- Washington Wizards

Anthony Davis- New Orleans Pelicans

Damian Lillard- Portland Trail Blazers

Ben Simmons- Philadelphia 76ers

Klay Thompson-Golden State Warriors

Karl-Anthony Towns- Minnesota Timberwolves

Dwyane Wade- Miami Heat

Team Giannis Roster:

Starters:

Giannis Antetokounmpo- Milwaukee Bucks

Stephen Curry- Golden State Warriors

Joel Embiid- Philadelphia 76ers

Paul George- Oklahoma City Thunder

Kemba Walker- Charlotte Hornets

Reserves:

Blake Griffin- Detriot Pistons

Nikola Jokic- Denver Nuggets

Kyle Lowry- Toronto Raptors

Khris Middleton- Milwaukee Bucks

Dirk Nowitzki- Dallas Mavericks

Victor Oladipo- Indiana Pacers INJURED

D'Angelo Russell- Brooklyn Nets

Nikola Vucevic- Orlando Magic

Russell Westbrook- Oklahoma City Thunder

Prediction:

Both of these teams are completely stacked with talent from the starters to the reserves. All of these players deserve to be an All Star because they are leaders on their respective teams. These players serve as role models to the youngsters and they show them the ropes to be a star in the NBA. That said, I think that Team LeBron has a slight advantage over Team Giannis because of the chemistry he has with Kyrie Irving. They played on the Cavs for a couple years together and are a very deadly duo. This game will be a very close one but Team LeBron should pull out the W in the end.

https://www.gamblingsites.net/picks/2019-nba-all-star-game-team-lebron-vs-team-giannis-odds-preview-and-prediction/

NBA All Star Weekend 2019- Skills Challenge, 3 Point and Slam Dunk Winners

Skills Challenge Winner: Jayson Tatum

After beating Conley, Jokic, and Young, Jayson Tatum won the 2019 NBA All Star Skills Challenge. Tatum shot a near half-court shot to beat Young after falling behind early in the championship round. The trickiest part for Tatum was the chest pass, missing at least one in the first two rounds. A very solid win for Tatum who wasn't favored at all to win the challenge, as he had one of the worst odds to win it out of all of the competitors. Congratulations to Jayson Tatum for winning the 2019 NBA All Star Skills Challenge!!

                                 https://www.apnews.com/449bd00ef6524169b493c147a8ba0d79/gallery/media:8a27a45820664882a8c672799c51aa7d

3 Point Shootout Winner: Joe Harris

Harris scored 25 in the first round of the shootout which got him through to the championship round. In the championship round, Harris edged out Curry with 26 points to Curry's 24 points and won the NBA 2019 All Star 3 Point Shootout. Harris was lights out on the money ball rack as he made all of them on the final rack in the championship round. Stephen Curry started out making 9 in a row in the championship round but struggled on the 3rd and 4th racks. Harris beat one of the best 3 point shooters of all time in impressive fashion. Congratulations to Joe Harris for winning the 2019 NBA All Star 3 Point Shootout!!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/allstar/2019/02/16/nba-all-star-2019-joe-harris-wins-3-point-contest-over-stephen-curry/2895838002/

Slam Dunk Contest Winner: Hamidou Diallo

Diallo put on a show when he dunked tonight. Each dunk captivated the judges and they gave him high scores in the first round. In the championship round, Diallo took down Dennis Smith Jr. with a bounce-slam-down dunk for his first and a mini two-handed windmill over Quavo and won the 2019 NBA All Star Slam Dunk Contest. But, his most impressive dunk of all was his elbow dunk over Shaq for the SUPERMAN! This dunk was by far the best one of the night. Diallo jumped over a 7 foot 1 inch man with the smooth finish. Very very impressive. Congratulations to Hamidou Diallo for winning the 2019 NBA All Star Slam Dunk Contest!!


https://www.apnews.com/449bd00ef6524169b493c147a8ba0d79/gallery/media:c785f82138bf4e72a87fedc53539d198

NBA All-Star Weekend 2019-Slam Dunk Contest Preview and Predictions

Today at 8pm on TNT, the Slam Dunk Contest will be the third of three events played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here are the contestants and my pick to win...

John Collins- Atlanta Hawks

John is averaging 19.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists a game this season

Miles Bridges- Charlotte Hornets

Miles is averaging 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists a game this season

Hamidou Diallo- Oklahoma City Thunder

Hamidou is averaging 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists a game this season

Dennis Smith Jr.-New York Knicks

Dennis is averaging 13.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists a game this season

Prediction to win:

Collins has been stellar with his dunks this year. He put on a dunk clinic last night in the Rising Skills Challenge and should do it again tonight. The Hawks love the second year kid out of Wake Forest as he should be on the team with Trae Young for many years to come. I think Collins has this win in the big with the 360 dunk and self alley-oop he showcases.

http://www.nba.com/allstar/2019/events/dunk-contest

Stats from https://www.basketball-reference.com

NBA All-Star Weekend 2019-3 Point Shootout Preview and Predictions

Today at 8pm on TNT, the 3 Point Shootout will be the second of three events played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here are the contestants and my pick to win...

Joe Harris- Brooklyn Nets

Joe has a 47.1% 3 point shot average as he's made 132 shots out of 280 taken this season

Devin Booker- Phoenix Suns

Devin has a 32.5% 3 point shot average as he's made 91 shots out of 280 taken this season

Seth Curry- Portland Trail Blazers

Seth has a 46.5% 3 point shot average as he's made 66 shots out of 142 taken this season

Danny Green- Toronto Raptors

Danny has a 42.1% 3 point shot average as he's made 128 shots out of 304 taken this season

Kemba Walker- Charlotte Hornets

Kemba has a 36.2% 3 point shot average as he's made 187 shots out of 517 taken this season

Khris Middleton- Milwaukee Bucks

Khris has a 37.8% 3 point shot average as he's made 122 shots out of 323 taken this season

Stephen Curry- Golden State Warriors

Stephen has a 44.4% 3 point shot average as he's made 236 shots out of 531 taken this season

Damian Lillard- Portland Trail Blazers

Damian has a 37.3% 3 point shot average as he's made 162 shots out of 434 taken this season

Buddy Hield- Sacramento Kings

Buddy has a 44.9% 3 point shot average as he's made 195 shots out of 434 taken this season

Dirk Nowitzki- Dallas Mavericks

Dirk has a 30.9% 3 point shot average as he's made 25 shots out of 81 taken this season

Prediction to win:

In this competition, I think that Stephen Curry will take home the W. Stephen has won it back in 2015 and is probably the favorite to win it again. He is known for his 3 point shooting and is one of the best ever to shoot beyond the arc. His brother, Seth, is also in the competition. But, I expect Stephen Curry to get the job done tonight.

http://www.nba.com/allstar/2019/events/three-point-contest
Stats from https://www.basketball-reference.com

NBA All-Star Weekend 2019-Skills Challenge Preview and Predictions

Today at 8pm on TNT, the Skills Challenge will be the first of three events played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here are the contestants and my pick to win...

Luka Doncic- Dallas Mavericks

Luka is averaging 20.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists a game this season

Trae Young- Atlanta Hawks

Trae is averaging 16.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.6 assists a game this season

Mike Conley- Memphis Grizzlies

Mike is averaging 19.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists a game this season

Nikola Jokic- Denver Nuggets

Nikola is averaging 20.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists a game this season

De'Aaron Fox- Sacramento Kings

De'Aaron is averaging 17.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.2 assists a game this season

Jayson Tatum- Boston Celtics

Jayson is averaging 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists a game this season

Kyle Kuzma- LA Lakers

Kyle is averaging 19.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists a game this season

Nikola Vucevic- Orlando Magic

Nikola is averaging 20.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists a game this season

Prediction to win:

Honestly, this competition is completely up for grabs. Any player out of this bunch can win tonight. That said, I think Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics is going to win the Skills Challenge. At 6-8, 208 lbs as a SF, Jayson Tatum has the attributes and speed to take care of his competition.

http://www.nba.com/allstar/2019/events/skills-challenge

Stats from https://www.basketball-reference.com

Bengals (Zac Taylor) and Dolphins (Brian Flores) set to hire new HC

The Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins are going to hire their new head coaches on Monday. The Cincinnati Bengals will hire Zac Taylor, who was previously the Rams QBs coach and the Miami Dolphins will hire Brian Flores, who was previously the Patriots LBs coach. The Bengals and Dolphins both ended last season with a losing record and decided to get new HCs for a fresh start. Here are the "profiles" of Zac and Brian... Enjoy!

Zac Taylor Profile

Previous: Rams QB Coach

Current: Bengals Head Coach

Age: 35

Born: Norman, Oklahoma

High School: Norman High School

College: University of Nebraska

NFL: Played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a QB. Cut in preseason.

Coaching Career Stint #1: Assistant QBs Coach for the Miami Dolphins. Later promoted to interim Offensive Coordinator. 2012-2015

Coaching Career Stint #2: Offensive Coordinator for the Cincinnati Bearcats 2016

Coaching Career Stint #3: Assistant WRs Coach for the Los Angeles Rams. 2017

Coaching Career Stint #4: QBs Coach for the Los Angeles Rams 2018

Coaching Career Stint #5: Current Bengals Head Coach. 2019

https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/2018/01/10/Los-Angeles-Rams-elevate-Zac-Taylor-to-QB-coach/2581515560549/

Brian Flores Profile

Previous: Patriots LB Coach

Current: Dolphins Head Coach

Age: 37

Born: Brooklyn, New York

High School: Brooklyn (NY) Poly Prep Country Day

College: Boston College

NFL: Injury prevented him from playing.

Coaching Career Stint #1: Patriots Scouting Assistant. 2004-2005

Coaching Career Stint #2: Patriots Pro Scout. 2006-2007

Coaching Career Stint #3: Patriots Speical teams Assistant. 2008-2009

Coaching Career Stint #4: Patriots Assistant Offense and Special teams. 2010

Coaching Career Stint #5: Patriots Defensive Assistant. 2011

Coaching Career Stint #6: Patriots Safeties Coach. 2012-2015

Coaching Career Stint #7: Patriots Linebackers Coach. 2016-2018

Coaching Career Stint #8: Current Dolphins Head Coach. 2019

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/patriots-assistant-brian-flores-and-complex-landscape-black-coaching-candidates

The New England Patriots win the Super Bowl!

Yesterday, the New England Patriots won Super Bowl 53 as they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in a defensive slugfest. No team was able to get into the red zone until early in the 4th quarter. There were only 2 turnovers in the game, one committed by each side. The Rams couldn't get their run game going at all, held to less than 70 yards on the game. Goff and Brady were very uncomfortable in the pocket and both had inconsistent games passing. The outright MVP of the game was Julian Edelman who completed destroyed the Rams secondary. Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards on the game. In the end, the Patriots won and Tom Brady won his 6th Super Bowl breaking the tie with Charles Haley who had 5. Rob Gronkowski will most likely retire from the team following the win. Tom Brady is set to continue playing in the NFL. Bill Belichick will also most likely continue coaching. Congratulations to the New England Patriots for winning Super Bowl LIII!! :)

https://www.patspulpit.com/2019/2/3/18209947/new-england-patriots-win-super-bowl-53-beat-los-angeles-rams-tom-brady-julian-edelman

Super Bowl LIII is HERE! Rams vs Patriots Preview and Predictions

After a grueling NFL regular season and playoffs, the Super Bowl is finally HERE! The Rams and Patriots are the last 2 teams standing, and they had to take unique paths to get here...

RAMS PATH TO SUPER BOWL:

Finished the regular season 13-3. Got the #2 seed in the Playoffs

WILD CARD ROUND: Bye

DIVISIONAL ROUND: BEAT the Cowboys 30-22

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND: BEAT the Saints 26-23 OT

PATRIOTS PATH TO SUPER BOWL:

Finished the regular season 11-5. Got the #2 seed in the Playoffs

WILD CARD ROUND: Bye

DIVISIONAL ROUND: BEAT the Chargers 41-28

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND: BEAT the Chiefs 37-31 OT

DESTINY vs DYNASTY:

This is a battle between a "Destiny" and a "Dynasty". The Rams are a young team with Goff and Gurley leading the offensive charge. They made big moves in the 2018 offseason in order to try and get to the Super Bowl before the younger stars get huge contracts. This is a "Destiny". The Patriots are a veteran team with a 41-year-old Brady as the ringmaster. This is the 3rd straight year that the Patriots have made the Super Bowl. Brady is appearing in his 9th Super Bowl and has won 5 of them. The Patriots are easily the most hated franchise in the NFL with a team that never goes away every single year. This is a "Dynasty".

Patriots PLAYERS AND STATS:

Mini Depth Chart: OFFENSE- Tom Brady QB, Sony Michel RB, James White RB, Julian Edelman WR, Chris Hogan WR, Rob Gronkowski TE, Trent Brown LT, Joe Thuney LG, David Andrews C, Shaq Mason RG, Marcus Cannon RT DEFENSE- Trey Flowers LE, Deatrich Wise Jr. RE, Lawrence Guy DT, Malcom Brown DT, Dont'a Hightower LB, Elandon Roberts LB, Kyle Van Noy LB, Jason McCourty LCB, Stephon Gilmore RCB, Patrick Chung S, Devin McCourty S SPECIAL TEAMS- Ryan Allen P, Stephen Gostkowski K, Julian Edelman PR, Cordarrelle Patterson KR

Stats Leaders: 

Passing- Brady 375-570, 4355 yards, 29 TD, 11 INT

Rushing- Michel 209 ATT, 931 yards, 6 TD

Receiving- White 87 REP, 751 yards, 7 TD Edelman 74 REP, 850 yards, 6 TD

Defense- Van Noy 56 Tackles, Flowers 7.5 Sacks, 3 FF, Harmon 4 INT

Punting- Allen 64 PUNT, 45.1 AVG

Field Goals- Gostkowski 27-32 

Rams PLAYERS AND STATS:

Mini Depth Chart: OFFENSE- Jared Goff QB, Todd Gurley RB, C.J. Anderson RB, Robert Woods WR, Brandin Cooks WR, Tyler Higbee TE, Andrew Whitworth LT, Roger Saffold III LG, John Sullivan C, Austin Blythe RG, Rob Havenstein RT DEFENSE- Michael Brockers DE, Aaron Donald DT, Ndamukong Suh NT, Cory Littleton ILB, Mark Barron ILB, Samson Ebukam OLB, Marcus Peters LCB, Aqib Talib RCB, John Johnson III SS, Lamarcus Joyner FS, Dante Fowler Jr. WILL SPECIAL TEAMS- Johnny Hekker P, Greg Zuerlein K, Jojo Natson PR, KR

Stats Leaders:

Passing- Goff 364-561 4688 yards, 32 TD, 12 INT
Rushing- Gurley 256 ATT, 1251 yards, 17 TD
Receiving- Woods 86 REP, 1219 yards 6 TD Cooks 80 REP, 1204 yards, 5 TD
Defense- Littleton 90 Tackles, Donald 20.5 Sacks, 4 FF, Johnson III 4 INT
Punting- Hekker 43 PUNT, 46.3 AVG
Field Goals- Zuerlein 27-31

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:

RAMS 34 PATRIOTS 27

Even though the Rams are young and still inexperienced in the playoffs, I think that if the Rams can not let Brady and the Patriots get a big early lead, they will have a chance to win the ball game. The difference maker in this game is going to be whether Aaron Donald can get to Brady or not. Donald is a BEAST on the line with 20.5 sacks on the year. He should be able to get to Brady at least a couple of times throughout the game. The Rams defense was able to hold the Saints to only 23 points in 4 quarters which is definitely something to look out for. Also, the Rams defense needs to not let Brady and his dynamic receiving group get 5-6 completions per drive. The Patriots offense completely destroyed the Chiefs secondary on multiple 3rd n Long situations on the game-winning drive in OT. The Rams can not give up too many easy completions. Finally, the Rams need to keep Brady off the field for as long as possible. The Rams offense needs to eat up the clock and score TDs while doing it. The best way to beat Brady is to keep him on the bench and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. The Rams didn't just magically get to the Super Bowl. They had to work for their wins and grew as a team throughout the year. The Rams have the best shot to beat the Patriots and keep Brady's rings on one finger for now. Tonight, we will find out whether the Rams can deliver or not. Good Luck to both teams and may the BEST team WIN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgheKYcdEJ0